Effective Telemarketing
Effective Telemarketing
• People can hear when you read from a script, so prepare what you plan to say by writing it down, read aloud what you have written 3 times, so that it becomes installed within your unconscious mind. Then throw it away! From memory prepare some bullet points that summarise the content of your script and use these to refer to when on the telephone. This simple technique ensures that you can devote more attention to the other person and you’ll sound much more natural.
• Plan how you will respond to the objections you experience most frequently and be experimental with trying out different responses.
• Always dial each call yourself so that you feel in control and prepared. Ask for the contact by name and if speaking their secretary it helps to use the contacts first name as well. If asked who is calling use your full name and if asked the name of your company don’t be afraid to give it.
• Use a spontaneous opening (you’ll be able to do this if you focus your attention on the other person) and get the OK signal that it’s convenient for the prospect to talk with you. (either verbally or non-verbally). If the prospect conveys that it’s not a convenient time then find out when they are prepared to talk with you. Your call will generally be interrupting them, which is why it’s important to be direct and get to the point quickly.
• Hook the prospect’s attention by using their name and providing a reason why they should talk with you. According to Tony Robbins, if people have good reasons to do something, they’ll do anything. It can be really useful before you make a call to develop two or three reasons why the person you’re calling will be pleased to hear from you because you are unconsciously projecting your positive ‘vibes’ that will be unconsciously received by the other person and you’ll feel more confident. If they have been referred, use that person’s name as early as you can because it will warm up their response and you can maximise the relationship.
• Build rapport by matching the other person’s voice speed and volume. Resistance can be dramatically reduced if you can immediately project that there is a similarity between you both. If your prospect is talking quickly, talk quickly, if they are talking slowly, talk slowly. This can be challenging because a natural reaction from sales people is to blurt out their scripted message as quickly as they can. Instead, using a message that is succinct and to the point, yet matching speed and volume can build a connection very quickly.
• Have clear expectations about what you want the call to accomplish. Is it to inform? To establish a need? To obtain an appointment? Unless you are in a telesales role you should NEVER attempt to sell your product or services over the phone, you are ‘selling’ the appointment.
• Clarify that you have all the correct information. For example, confirm you are talking to the right person and they have the authority and not just the title. Even if your call is not successful on the first attempt, you can ensure that their details are correct for future use.
• Research from The Results Corporation Plc shows that 60% of customers say “yes” after saying "no" 5 times, yet 44% of sales people give up after the first "no", 22% after the second "no" and 14% after the third "no". These statistics are important when prospecting on the telephone because a typical prospect will require 5 contacts from the sales person before agreeing to a meeting. That’s why successful sales people develop a Prospect Nurturing System that keeps them in regular contact with their prospects irrespective of how many "no’s" they encounter. As the contact increases many people’s reassurance rises as they become more familiar with a person or their company.
• Ask open questions to encourage the prospect to talk and if appropriate ask a couple of questions that probe for pain (Pain can be a powerful motivator).
• Don’t attempt to establish the decision maker and then talk to them in one phone call, if you don’t know who to speak to then that is a call in its own right. Set yourself a target, say four attempts to get through to the decision maker, if you still are unable to reach them, try a different approach. If you keep a call log of all your calls you’ll soon get to know which are the most productive times to reach the decision maker. For example, traditionally Monday morning is a poor time to cold call.
• The higher up the organisation you go then the higher and wider the barriers seem to become, with receptionists, secretaries and personal assistants all seemingly having no other purpose than to stop you getting through to the decision maker. Try outside the normal office hours that will avoid the receptionist and you may get straight through. Security staff are often a good source for information and they are usually more than willing to show off their knowledge about the company - they also have the time to talk! As a last resort, send a letter first explaining that you will be calling - therefore the receptionist is ‘expecting your call’.
• If you are using the telephone to qualify prospect information, you should aim to discover:
- Who should be talking to regarding the purchase of your product or service?
- Who else would be involved in such a decision?
- When do you believe a budget will be made available for such a purchase/project this year?
- What do you envisage that budget to be?
- Is the budget dependent upon anything?
- When is this purchase required by?
- Is there a particular reason for this timescale?
- Who else are they talking to? (Identified your competitors)
- What are they hoping to achieve? (Checks whether it is within your capabilities)
• Record what you are doing, how many dials you’ve made, how many prospects you were able to talk with and the times of your calls. Studying this information gives you a good reality check because you’ll know how many calls you need to make to get an appointment.
• At then end of a call where you aim is to secure an appointment, seek their commitment. For example, “I feel I understand what is required and that we can help, I’d like to discuss your requirements further in person, would Thursday or Friday next week be suitable?” Always confirm your appointment either by email or by letter because this provides you with another opportunity of ‘contact’ that helps the prospect with becoming more familiar with you and your organisation. Give appointments either at a quarter past or a quarter to the hour. This conveys that you are busy and presupposing that there are lots of other companies that want to see you.
• Your attitude and emotional state is a vital part of telephone effectiveness. Clear your desk of everything except your prospect records and diary. If your immediate environment is uncluttered it helps free your mind so that you can focus on each call’s objectives. Visualise your prospect smiling warmly when they receive your call. This will help you access a positive state-of-mind. Your unconscious mind can’t tell the difference between a real and imagined event. This mentally rehearses you in feeling good about picking up the phone. Stand up, take 5 deep breaths and smile! According to Deepak Chopra, our mind and body are totally connected. The way you move your body affects your mental state. After every call, review what went well before making your next call. This process enables you to act as your own motivational mentor!
Effective Telemarketing - To learn more about this author, visit Nikki Owen's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Whether you’re telephoning to make an appointment or seeking information about a prospect, there are some essential pointers that can help you to become really effective when communicating on the telephone!
• People can hear when you read from a script, so prepare what you plan to say by writing it down, read aloud what you have written 3 times, so that it becomes installed within your unconscious mind. Then throw it away! From memory prepare some bullet points that summarise the content of your script and use these to refer to when on the telephone. This simple technique ensures that you can devote more attention to the other person and you’ll sound much more natural.
• Plan how you will respond to the objections you experience most frequently and be experimental with trying out different responses.
• Always dial each call yourself so that you feel in control and prepared. Ask for the contact by name and if speaking their secretary it helps to use the contacts first name as well. If asked who is calling use your full name and if asked the name of your company don’t be afraid to give it.
• Use a spontaneous opening (you’ll be able to do this if you focus your attention on the other person) and get the OK signal that it’s convenient for the prospect to talk with you. (either verbally or non-verbally). If the prospect conveys that it’s not a convenient time then find out when they are prepared to talk with you. Your call will generally be interrupting them, which is why it’s important to be direct and get to the point quickly.
• Hook the prospect’s attention by using their name and providing a reason why they should talk with you. According to Tony Robbins, if people have good reasons to do something, they’ll do anything. It can be really useful before you make a call to develop two or three reasons why the person you’re calling will be pleased to hear from you because you are unconsciously projecting your positive ‘vibes’ that will be unconsciously received by the other person and you’ll feel more confident. If they have been referred, use that person’s name as early as you can because it will warm up their response and you can maximise the relationship.
• Build rapport by matching the other person’s voice speed and volume. Resistance can be dramatically reduced if you can immediately project that there is a similarity between you both. If your prospect is talking quickly, talk quickly, if they are talking slowly, talk slowly. This can be challenging because a natural reaction from sales people is to blurt out their scripted message as quickly as they can. Instead, using a message that is succinct and to the point, yet matching speed and volume can build a connection very quickly.
• Have clear expectations about what you want the call to accomplish. Is it to inform? To establish a need? To obtain an appointment? Unless you are in a telesales role you should NEVER attempt to sell your product or services over the phone, you are ‘selling’ the appointment.
• Clarify that you have all the correct information. For example, confirm you are talking to the right person and they have the authority and not just the title. Even if your call is not successful on the first attempt, you can ensure that their details are correct for future use.
• Research from The Results Corporation Plc shows that 60% of customers say “yes” after saying "no" 5 times, yet 44% of sales people give up after the first "no", 22% after the second "no" and 14% after the third "no". These statistics are important when prospecting on the telephone because a typical prospect will require 5 contacts from the sales person before agreeing to a meeting. That’s why successful sales people develop a Prospect Nurturing System that keeps them in regular contact with their prospects irrespective of how many "no’s" they encounter. As the contact increases many people’s reassurance rises as they become more familiar with a person or their company.
• Ask open questions to encourage the prospect to talk and if appropriate ask a couple of questions that probe for pain (Pain can be a powerful motivator).
• Don’t attempt to establish the decision maker and then talk to them in one phone call, if you don’t know who to speak to then that is a call in its own right. Set yourself a target, say four attempts to get through to the decision maker, if you still are unable to reach them, try a different approach. If you keep a call log of all your calls you’ll soon get to know which are the most productive times to reach the decision maker. For example, traditionally Monday morning is a poor time to cold call.
• The higher up the organisation you go then the higher and wider the barriers seem to become, with receptionists, secretaries and personal assistants all seemingly having no other purpose than to stop you getting through to the decision maker. Try outside the normal office hours that will avoid the receptionist and you may get straight through. Security staff are often a good source for information and they are usually more than willing to show off their knowledge about the company - they also have the time to talk! As a last resort, send a letter first explaining that you will be calling - therefore the receptionist is ‘expecting your call’.
• If you are using the telephone to qualify prospect information, you should aim to discover:
- Who should be talking to regarding the purchase of your product or service?
- Who else would be involved in such a decision?
- When do you believe a budget will be made available for such a purchase/project this year?
- What do you envisage that budget to be?
- Is the budget dependent upon anything?
- When is this purchase required by?
- Is there a particular reason for this timescale?
- Who else are they talking to? (Identified your competitors)
- What are they hoping to achieve? (Checks whether it is within your capabilities)
• Record what you are doing, how many dials you’ve made, how many prospects you were able to talk with and the times of your calls. Studying this information gives you a good reality check because you’ll know how many calls you need to make to get an appointment.
• At then end of a call where you aim is to secure an appointment, seek their commitment. For example, “I feel I understand what is required and that we can help, I’d like to discuss your requirements further in person, would Thursday or Friday next week be suitable?” Always confirm your appointment either by email or by letter because this provides you with another opportunity of ‘contact’ that helps the prospect with becoming more familiar with you and your organisation. Give appointments either at a quarter past or a quarter to the hour. This conveys that you are busy and presupposing that there are lots of other companies that want to see you.
• Your attitude and emotional state is a vital part of telephone effectiveness. Clear your desk of everything except your prospect records and diary. If your immediate environment is uncluttered it helps free your mind so that you can focus on each call’s objectives. Visualise your prospect smiling warmly when they receive your call. This will help you access a positive state-of-mind. Your unconscious mind can’t tell the difference between a real and imagined event. This mentally rehearses you in feeling good about picking up the phone. Stand up, take 5 deep breaths and smile! According to Deepak Chopra, our mind and body are totally connected. The way you move your body affects your mental state. After every call, review what went well before making your next call. This process enables you to act as your own motivational mentor!
Effective Telemarketing - To learn more about this author, visit Nikki Owen's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
| |||
 |
No article feedback found. | ||
|
Leave Your Feedback | ||
|
|||
 Use Examples to Encourage
| |||
 It's well established that good leaders praise their employees, but there are different ways to go about it. As a manager, one thing you can do is to point out to the whole team how well an employee does a certain t... |
|||
|
Skill and Knowledge are Telemarketing Partners
| |||
| Telemarketing is nothing new. Since early in this century, Wall Street brokers have used the telephone to sell securities, commodities, stocks and bonds to customers scattered across the country. Then, it was prim... |
|||
|
Part Nine - Prospecting for More Sales
| |||
| Part Nine of a Ten Part Series. In this series, we explore all the different avenues of prospecting necessary for a business to succeed.
Think of your business as a a beautiful garden, and then consider all the ... |
|||
|
Guerrilla Telemarketing
| |||
 Telemarketing works wonders, but only if you do it right. Guerrillas know exactly how to do it right, and when you read this, you will, too. |
|||
|
Warming Up Cold Calls
| |||
| In today’s day and age, a cold call telemarketing call is about as smooth as vinegar. To warm up your approach and improve the effectiveness, use a little honey in a warm cup of tea and it will go much farther, and... |
|||
| |||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
 Nikki Owen (Visit Nikki's Website) Nikki Owen has dedicated the last 16 years to the development of sales professionals and sales leaders for many large international organizations. She has coached and mentored over 6,000 sales people and their leaders. In 2004 Nikki conducted the largest sales research projects ever undertaken, involving 2663 organizations to identify the 5 biggest barriers to sales success. This extensive report has been referred to in global publications as the ultimate solution to creating high-performing sales teams. Nikki is the creator of The Sales Activator® an award winning sales toolkit. As a certified Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP, Nikki is an expert with applying seeming complex techniques within a corporate sales infrastructure. Nikki lectures on sales leadership using her own case studies from her client portfolio including Shell, Barclays Bank and Zurich Life. In 2007 she became an accredited firewalking instructor with the Firewalking Institute of Research and Education and studies Quantum Physics. Nikki is the author of 'A Second Chance to Live' that was first published in 1991 by Transworld and was translated and sold in 16 different countries. She has been interviewed on numerous television and radio shows and is finalising her next book titled – An Audience with Charisma based on her cutting-edge seminars that she hosts at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London.
|  |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 |
 5 Step Action Plan Workplace Violence Management vs. Leadership Salesperson Selection CAN-Spam Checklist |
|
 | ||
 |
Email The Reporters
Press Release Builder | |
 |
Top 50 Franchising Blogs
Top 50 Franchising Blogs | |
| ||
 |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||
